A township in Durban

During the apartheid era blacks and coloured people were forced to migrate to these poorly endowed places. The apartheid era was officially abolished in 1994 although in practice this distinction still exists. Most people remained behind in the townships and can doing nothing else than just praying or waiting for a better life. Although these people are facing a hard life, the circumstances are not as bad as depicted in the mind of most outsiders.

In Durban we went on a township tour with a local guy who grown up over there. I was pleasantly surprised by government initiatives which started in the late nineties. Mandela has put education at the core of attention for South Africa’s development. We saw schools and visited a well equipped library. The latter is public and looked well organised. Internet is freely accessible and books are provided in two languages. Attention is also given here to HIV Aids, one of the major problems in South Africa. Another government initiative is social house building. Near the vulnerable shacks, new houses are build on allocated sites. These bricked new homes are stable (against intense rainfall) and relatively save. They are also cheap since they are subsidised including additional services. Some major disadvantages are the gradually process of house building, the long waiting lists and the obviously visibility of the increased inequality at the backyard of the shacks. Keeping this in mind, the government projects are at least a step towards the right direction.